UFC programming on Fuel TV has been nothing short of astounding for the once-struggling action sports network, and things have only gotten better as the relationship between UFC and Fuel TV has expanded.

The latest success for the network is this past Saturday’s UFC on Fuel TV 8: Silva vs. Stann broadcast from Japan, which set various high marks, including the most watched program in the network’s history.

UFC on Fuel TV 8 drew 485,000 total viewers, according to Nielson Media Research. That marked a record for any single program on the network, and is more than twice the draw that any other UFC on Fuel TV event has done.

Not only did the fights on Fuel TV draw well, but so did the pre- and post-fight shows. The UFC on Fuel TV 8 pre-fight show drew 250,000 total viewers, while 219,000 viewers stuck around during the late night hours following the event for the post show. Both ratings are record marks for pre and post-fight coverage, and higher than any other UFC on Fuel TV fight event has drawn, let alone ancillary programming.

The majority of the audience for all UFC on Fuel TV 8 programming on the network was in the Men 18-49 demographic, which is another huge score for Fuel TV, as it is the network’s most highly coveted advertising demographic.

Other record-setting marks for UFC on Fuel TV 8 include a peak audience of 542,000 viewers from 10:15 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and an average of 131,000 total viewers for the day. Saturday, March 2, was the most watched day of programming in the network’s history.

Their main event featuring two guys coming off losses did not match Bellator’s championship title fight, no.

Sir_Roy

Matches make the most interesting fights. Not rap sheets replete with
wins versus losses. The two are not mutually inclusive and distinctions
need to be made.

Silva and Stann came to brawl. And brawl they
did. Very entertaining match-up worthy of the finale. Were the UFC to
look at their recent losses and base each fighter’s worth and / or draw
solely on that, or even principally on that alone, it would have been us
fans who would have ultimately lost out.

Timothy Malone

I’m not complaining about it being the main event, I’m just saying that pointing out Bellator got better numbers for what for them is relatively a top notch card versus the UFC’s numbers for a Fuel event isn’t exactly something to brag about.

damanism

this event was pay-per-view worthy imho. two very important fights for possible contenders for the middle weight and heavyweight division… although it’s arguable if the main event was worthy of pay-per-view, it was still set up for an epic slug fest!